


What's In A Name?

by hoffkk



Category: Deception (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Name Game, Stakeout, kaymeron, revealing secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 21:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14881538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoffkk/pseuds/hoffkk
Summary: Cameron finds out an interesting secret about Kay during a stakeout and decides to reveal a few of his own...





	What's In A Name?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on anonymous request:
> 
> Can you do Cameron trying to guess what Kay is short for? "Katherine? Karoline? Kendall? C'mon, give me a hint already."

Kay was used to stakeouts being long and boring.  This one, however, was somewhat entertaining as she sat in the car with Cameron, chatting and getting to know each other better.  At least it _was_ until Cameron started poking around and asking about her name.

"So... what does Kay stand for?"  Cameron inquired as he took a sip of his coffee.

"What?" Kay responded, caught off guard by the question. 

"Your name..." He explained. "What's it short for?"

Her legal name was Kay now, but it hadn't always been.  She shortened it when she turned eighteen.  No one knew that though, except for her family.  However, it _was_ in her file at the FBI.  So, if someone had access to that, then they would know one of her deepest, darkest secrets.

"Nothing."  She answered coolly, wondering how he knew about her name.

"Well, Mike mentioned earlier that it stood for something." Cameron tried again, eyeing her suspiciously. 

Mike.  Of course.  He would have access and reason to read her file, being partners and all.  In all honesty, the reading didn't even bother her.  It was the sharing.  _That_ she would kill him for later.  Irritated with her bureau buddy, she retorted angrily, "Well, Mike was _wrong_."

Cam stared at her for a moment then smirked, "Me thinks the lady doth protest too much."

"Okay... first of all, you screwed up that quote," Kay informed him in an annoyed tone.  "and second, _drop it_."

"Aw, c'mon, Kay."  He responded undeterred.  "You can tell me."

" _Cameron_..." She said in warning. "Don't make me shoot you."

"All right, all right." Cam said, holding his hands up in surrender.  "I'll stop asking."

"Thank you." Kay nodded in appreciation.         

"I'll just start guessing instead." He told her, then began listing names on his fingers. "Is it short for Karen?  Kamille? Karington?"

Kay face palmed, but said nothing.  Unfortunately, he took the silence as his cue to keep going.

Thinking for a moment, Cameron added, "What about Kaydence? Or Kandace? Or Kalysta?  Kalypso?  Ooh, Wait! I got it! Kassiopeia!"

"Kassiopeia?"  Kay shot back incredulously after nearly choking on her cinnamon flavored coffee.  " _Seriously_?"

"Well, it _has_ to be something weird.  Why else would you be so secretive about it?"  He told her.

"Not _that_ weird." She snipped.

"So you admit you have another name?"  Cameron smirked.

Biting back a smile, Kay rolled her eyes and said, "I admit nothing."

Ignoring her, Cam continued on with his rant, "Okay, so less weird names.  Hmmm.... Kalliope? Kaliyah?  Katana?"

" _Those_ are supposed to be _less_ weird?" She quipped.

"You're right.  Still too out of the box.  Hmmm..."  He thought on it some more.  "Kamry? Kamaya? Kareena?"

"Getting colder." Kay teased.

"Katherine? Karoline? Kendall? C'mon, give me a hint already." Cameron whined, growing frustrated with his failed attempts.

"Nope."  She said simply, taking another sip and smirking over the top of her cup, knowing he'd _never_ figure it out in a million years.  It was just too unique... and too awful.

After a few seconds, Cam sighed disappointedly, "You really won't tell me?"

For a second, Kay actually felt bad about keeping this secret.  He seemed so sad about being in the dark.  It made her wonder... "Why do you want to know so bad?"

He shrugged then said honestly, "We're partners... _and_ friends, which means we should have a fair level of trust between us, but if you can't even tell me something as trivial as your _real_ name, well... I must not be very trustworthy to you."

Letting out a deep breath, Kay tried to explain herself, "It's not a trust issue.  I actually trust _you_ more than most people I know.  It's just... _personal_."

"Right, personal." Cameron noted.  "I suppose I can respect that."

"Thank you." She responded with a light smile.

After that, the conversation lulled.  They did nothing but watch out the window for their suspect and drink their coffees for the next five minutes.  Then, Cam blurted out something she didn't expect.

"My middle name is Lysander."  He said without meeting her eyes.

Turning to look at him, Kay failed to stifle a grin as she queried, "Lysander? As in _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ Lysander?"

"The very same."  He nodded coolly like telling one of his most embarrassing secrets was perfectly normal.

Kay thought for a moment then stated certainly, "I've never read that in any of your bios."

"You've read my bios?" Cameron asked in surprise, finally looking her way with a giant amused smile.

"It's called research." She covered quickly.  "I like to know who I'm working with."

" _Right_.  Anyway... I've never had the heart to change it, so I've just kept it a secret."  Cam explained.  "Not even the team knows."

"Isn't something like that kind of hard to hide with a celebrity status?"  Kay inquired.

Shrugging, he answered, "I managed to hide a twin brother from the world for nearly thirty years."

"Touché." She smirked then took a drink of her coffee.  "So, your dad was a Shakespeare fan?"

"My mom, actually.  She used to read his plays to Jonathan and me every night before bed. That play was always her favorite."  Cam explained.

That comment caught Kay off guard.  Cameron had never mentioned his mother before.  She wanted to know more, but didn't want to push.  He was already revealing enough as it was.  So, instead, she replied simply, "That's sweet... and your Shakespeare misquote from before is beginning to make a lot more sense now."

"Yeah, well, it has been a while since I've read any of them." He noted as he picked at the coffee collar on his cup with his thumbnail.

Cam went uncharacteristically quiet after that.  Not liking the silence or the sullen expression on his face, Kay spoke up, "Cameron Lysander Black... hmmm... it actually has a nice ring to it."

"I don't know about that," He responded uncertainly.  "but it definitely sounds better than Jonathan Demetrius."

"You're kidding?" She questioned with a quirk of her brow as well as her lips.

"Nope." Cam said popping the "'p" for dramatic effect.

"Just when I thought Johnny's life couldn't get any worse." Kay quipped, causing them both to let out a loud chuckle.

As the laughter died down, Kay traced the rim of her cup with her index finger and let out a deep breath before saying, "Kamala."

"What?" Cameron cocked his head curiously.

Meeting his eyes, she went on to elaborate, "My birth name.  It was Kamala.  It was the name of my great-grandmother on my father's side.  I loved her, I really did... but I _hated_ the name.  So, I insisted everyone call me Kay for short.  Then, as soon as I turned eighteen, I had it changed legally, and I never looked back.

"Why Kay?"  He retorted quizzically.  "Wouldn't it have made more sense to shorten it to Kam?

"I don't know, I was five when I came up with it.  It made sense at the time."  Kay told him with a laugh.

"That's probably for the best.  After all, not everyone's cool enough to pull off a name like Cam." Cam teased, brushing off his shoulder.

"Yeah, _exhibit A_..." She trailed off, staring at him pointedly.

"Ouch." He replied, placing a hand over his heart and feigning hurt.

" _Anyway_ , there it is."  Kay told him.  "Now you know my secret."

"Well, for the record, I think Kay suits you."  Cameron smiled.  "As for Kamala..."  He hesitated a moment, wanting to say it was kind of hot but didn't think that would go over too well.  Instead he finished by saying, "I think it's a really pretty name."

Cam didn't miss the way her cheeks pinked a little as she thanked him.  He returned the sentiment with a grin, then they sat in comfortable silence for a while.  It didn't last too long before Kay broke it and informed him, "By the way, if you _ever_ tell _anyone_ about this conversation...."

"Relax, Kamala."  He told her cheekily.  "A magician _never_ reveals his secrets."

"I hope for _your_ sake that that statement is true... _Lysander_."  She tossed back with a teasing look of her own.  On the inside, however, Kay wasn't as amused.  Cameron better not tell.  He _did_ promise not to, but it wasn't very reassuring, considering he _literally_ just revealed a secret to her.  Technically two, his name _and_ Johnny's.  For someone who's whole life is centered around keeping secrets, Cam sure did reveal a lot to her. Actually, now that she thought about it, Kay had revealed a lot to him over these past few weeks as well.  Weird.  _Very_ Weird.

Almost as weird as their names.


End file.
